Three-way governor's race ahead

Politico

12-05-2025

Good morning and welcome to Monday.
The guessing game is over. State Sen. JASON PIZZO intends to run for governor of Florida as an independent.
Pizzo made his plans clear during an interview with CBS Miami's Jim DeFede on 'Facing South Florida' in a clip shared Friday evening. He told Playbook he'd even consider picking a Republican to join the ticket, adding, 'I'll pick the best person.'
But Pizzo won't make his candidacy official until September, he told POLITICO's Gary Fineout. And he intends to use his vast fortune to put $25 million toward his campaign, as POLITICO first reported. He told CBS Miami that friends and family will kick in another $30 million.
Even with the cash, Pizzo is taking a risk, given GOP strength in the state and that it has been more than a century since a third-party candidate won statewide in Florida. State Democrats — who have been hoping President DONALD TRUMP's policies might provide an opening in the 2026 governor's race — are worried Pizzo will merely split Democratic voters and ease Republicans' path to another victory.
'Sen. Pizzo is relatively new to elected office,' said Broward County Commissioner STEVE GELLER, a Democrat and former legislator. 'I think he underestimates the challenges in running as an independent. His chances of winning for governor were much better had he run in a statewide Democratic primary.'
A key question now is how Pizzo could form a coalition of those who haven't found a home in either major party. Prominent trial attorney JOHN MORGAN, who's been exploring the possibility of creating a third party and even mounting his own run for governor, told Playbook he hadn't discussed the race with Pizzo. Morgan will be in Tallahassee on Wednesday to speak to the Capital Tiger Bay Club, where he said he intends to talk about how he's thinking about the governor's race.
'It will have to be a perfect storm for him,' Morgan told Playbook about Pizzo's candidacy. 'I have never met him. But I understand his pain.'
Morgan, who is also a former Democrat, was referring to feeling out of place among liberals. Pizzo has cast himself as a centrist uninterested in debating culture war issues he said have distracted lawmakers from dealing with the real problems Floridians are concerned about. He has stressed the influence of Florida's 3.6 million voters not affiliated with either party in making the case for his 2026 bid. He also pointed out Trump won by around 3 points in his district, while he won by 16.
But Pizzo's opponent in the 2024 race was IMTIAZ MOHAMMAD, a former Democrat who'd become a Republican; the Miami-Dade GOP explicitly decided not to put him on its recommended slate of candidates due to comments he made about Jews, the U.S. and Israel.
The governor's race will be more complicated. Former Rep. DAVID JOLLY, who recently became a Democrat and has created a state political committee to fundraise, would occupy a similar centrist lane to the one Pizzo is staking out. And while the very earliest stages of the race show that Trump-endorsed candidate Rep. BYRON DONALDS is the frontrunner for Republicans, a run by Florida first lady CASEY DESANTIS would certainly result in a brutal GOP primary.
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... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...
SHUTDOWN THREAT — 'State Republican legislative leaders have torn up a proposed budget 'framework' amid finger-pointing and the fallout of Florida Gov. Ron. DeSantis' pledge to veto an ambitious sales tax plan pushed by House Speaker Daniel Perez,' reports POLITICO's Gary Fineout.
'Budget negotiations have broken down — and it's not clear when and how legislators will put together a new spending plan ahead of the July 1 deadline, raising the prospect of a potential state government shutdown. … Albritton has backed away from the tax cut deal. And Perez now says passage of the 'rural renaissance' legislation. designed to spread $200 million across several rural counties, is 'off the table.''
RPOF PLAYS PEACEMAKER — To bridge the rift, the Republican Party of Florida on Friday proposed DeSantis and legislative leaders get together for a budget and tax summit alongside senior staff.
'Our Republican leaders are deeply committed to this state and have bold ideas to keep Florida thriving,' said RPOF Chairman EVAN POWER. 'Bringing everyone to the table will help us focus on our shared priorities — fiscal responsibility, tax relief, and a balanced budget. Uniting us to deliver for the future of Florida.'
— 'Five big budget issues: Tense times ahead as feuding Florida lawmakers take on DeSantis,' by Gray Rohrer of USA Today Network — Florida.
— 'All eyes on Florida's new statewide Medicaid managed-care bill,' by Christine Sexton of the Florida Phoenix.
UTHMEIER'S IMMIGRATION PUSH — 'State Republicans rushed earlier this year to aid President Donald Trump's mass deportation push. And since then, Florida officials have adopted a hardline attitude that mirrors administration officials on immigration issues, highlighted by a fight between the state's attorney general and a federal judge,' reports POLITICO's Isa Domínguez.
'Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier — appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year — filed a motion this week to appeal U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams' temporary block on a key provision of Florida's new immigration law, which bars people without legal residency in the U.S. from entering the state. It's the latest in a series of Uthmeier statements slamming Williams' ruling, doubling down on an April 23 letter to law enforcement saying he 'cannot prevent' officers from making arrests while litigation is ongoing.'
SPEED BUMPS FOR DIRECT-CAR SALES — 'The politically powerful auto dealerships in Florida have battled for years to protect their turf, seeking help from the Legislature and state courts in their quest to ensure consumers don't buy cars without them,' report Jeffrey Schweers and Steven Lemongello of the Orlando Sentinel.
'Now they have a new defender in their latest legal fight, attempting to quash a new Volkswagen subsidiary's plans to sell electric trucks directly to drivers: Attorney General James Uthmeier. Uthmeier says plans by Scout Motors to 'circumvent' auto dealers is 'harmful' to state businesses and consumers. … Dealerships – and their lobbyists – have donated close to $90,000 to his 2026 campaign.'
NEW DEATH WARRANT SIGNED — 'DeSantis on Friday signed a death warrant for Anthony Wainwright, who was convicted of kidnapping a woman in 1994 from a Winn-Dixie supermarket parking lot in Lake City and raping and murdering her in rural Hamilton County,' reports Jim Saunders of News Service of Florida. 'Wainwright, who had escaped from a North Carolina prison days before killing 23-year-old Carmen Gayheart, is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection June 10 at Florida State Prison.'
AND THIS WEEK — 'The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday refused to halt [this] week's scheduled execution of Glen Rogers, who was sent to death row for the 1995 murder of a woman in a Tampa motel room,' reports Jim Saunders of News Service of Florida. 'Justices, in a 26-page unanimous opinion, rejected arguments including that 'newly discovered' evidence about sexual abuse and trafficking that Rogers suffered as a child should spare him from being executed Thursday.'
— 'Is measles spreading in Florida? Hard to know. State's disease-tracking data no longer available,' reports Cindy Krischer Goodman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
PENINSULA AND BEYOND
EXPOSURE CHARGES — 'Former New College of Florida spokesperson Frederick Piccolo Jr. could have three misdemeanor charges for exposure of sexual organs in Sarasota County elevated to third-degree felonies, according to state attorney Ed Brodsky,' reports Chris Anderson and Gabriela Szymanowska of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
POPE'S FLORIDIAN BRO SPEAKS — 'Louis Prevost, a Navy veteran, is equal parts excited, happy, mind blown and a little worried about how newfound papacy will impact his relationship with his youngest brother, Pope Leo XIV,' reports Melissa Pérez-Carrillo of the Sarasota Herald Tribune.
He said: 'We can only hope that we can maintain that closeness, and we don't do anything to embarrass him.'
WATER HAZARD — Health officials have warned of blue-green algae near Pahokee in Lake Okeechobee, reports Julius Whigham II of the Palm Beach Post. 'Residents and visitors are advised to avoid swimming, wading or using personal watercraft in areas where there is a visible bloom. Those who come into contact with the algae, or with water that is discolored or smells unpleasant, should wash their skin and clothing.'
— '10 migrants held with ICE detainers after coming ashore near Palm Beach's Breakers resort,' report Olivia DiVenti and Rubén Rosario of 7News.
— 'UF presidential pick's shifting stances offer a look at how he leads,' reports Ian Hodgson of the Tampa Bay Times.
— 'Broward schools to slash budget by $65 million. Here's what may be cut,' by Scott Travis of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
— 'Orlando Dreamers eye county-owned land for potential MLB stadium. Will it work?' by Ryan Gillespie and Stephen Hudak of the Orlando Sentinel.
CAMPAIGN MODE
THIS AFTERNOON — Gubernatorial candidate Rep. BYRON DONALDS is doing a meet and greet with Miami Young Republicans. (More details.)
DNC FIRESTORM OVER PRIMARIES — 'Speaking with DNC Chair Ken Martin, [David] Hogg proposed a so-called internal firewall in which he would stay on as vice chair but be barred from accessing any internal DNC information about congressional and state legislative races as long as he was supporting challengers, according to three people familiar with their conversations and granted anonymity to describe them,' reports POLITICO's Holly Otterbein.
'Martin shot down the idea, the people said, expressing confidence that he would win the votes at the DNC to pass a rule requiring party officials to remain neutral in primaries — essentially forcing Hogg to drop his primary project or step down.'
— ''On the road': Chris Murphy, Maxwell Frost, Nikki Fried rally Dems in Greg Steube's district,' reports A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics.
— 'Judicial watchdog files charges against Broward judge who promoted salacious rumors, AI recording in campaign,' reports Rafael Olmeda of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP
RELATIONSHIP RESET — 'Florida-based lobbyist Brian Ballard is no longer in the White House dog house, after scoring a Friday sit-down with President Trump and his chief of staff,' reports Axios' Marc Caputo.
'Ballard, a longtime Trump fundraiser and adviser who once lobbied for the Trump Organization, earned the ire of the White House after his firm circumvented the regular channels for lobbying on behalf of a cryptocurrency client. … Ballard cut short a European vacation and scored a meeting with Trump and [Chief of Staff Susie] Wiles. 'They had a good conversation,' said an administration source familiar with the 'very cordial' meeting. 'The president spoke his piece. Brian spoke his, and apologized.''
ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN
BIRTHDAYS: Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson … Leslie Dughi with Metz, Husband & Daughton.